Songbird
by Cheshira Kitty
Summary: Avis left London with every intention of forgetting Paris; confusing, but it made sense in her own head. Teaching English to her vampire students, making nice with a vampire hating council, surviving on sex, literally, and wondering when she'd become a carer for a group of supernatural misfits hadn't been on the agenda.


**_AN:_** This idea came to me after seeing the deleted scene for Kelly Donovan, the plot in which she actually turned out to be a succubus. I love the supernatural world, but it is very much Vampires and Werewolves and Witches ( oh my ). So the idea of bringing in succubi and incubuses, it makes me so happy. Avis is motherly, classy, whilst being very much a twenty six year old woman nonetheless- sort of a Grace Kelly air about her.

I just really wanted someone for Klaus who isn't a baby-vampire, or a human bartender, someone with some similar experiences; someone who isn't a big ball of light to him. Who is grounded and would bring him back down to earth when his head gets away with him. Someone who is mindful of everything done, and wary of repercussions. I don't know.

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 ** _Songbird_**

 _01_

Prologue

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 _Sweet_.

That was how Damon would describe this new English teacher, hardcore _cavity_ worthy sweetness, the kind which rotted you down to the bone- dimples, blonde curls, the smatter of freckles across the bridge of her nose. If anything, she was the mother-hen Mystic Falls desperately needed, _well_ , since somebody kept killing them off, slowly but surely. Stefan had told him about her, after they'd gotten over the whole seeing each other again, throwing themselves out the window fiasco. Sweetness aside, there was something strange about the kind English teacher which had no problem stripping a cocky teenager back down the bare bones of their self esteem if they got a little too rowdy in her classroom.

Besides her soft nature, he'd learnt a little about Miss A Lovell, who had come to Mystic Falls just a few months prior to Stefan apparently, or that's what he'd _squeezed_ from a few sources. No husband, no known family, a drifter who had been looking for a place to put down roots. And what a place to put down roots, than in this _godforsaken_ backwater town where the roots were more like eternal nooses. Having studied English in Durham University, lived in London most of her life until deciding to uproot herself to this hell hole... _It didn't make any sense to Damon either_.

He'd parked outside the school with every intention of playing up the act of a caring older brother one day, catching a glimpse of the English teacher strolling out of school hours before the day was even over. Free periods or whatever they had these days, he supposed. For a split second he wondered if the bunny blood had gotten to Stefan's head, confused as to how on earth his brother could ever think that a 5'3" dainty figure, with a mass of perfectly coiffed blonde curls and heels which only added an inch to her tiny stature, could be considered strange. Natural looking make up, first button undone on her rose coloured blouse and the pencil skirt showing off everything nicely shaped below her hips. And if he let himself, he could've probably missed it too, caught up in the pretty picture the woman made but it was the slight turn of her lips as she strolled past him.

The smell, pungent and musky, like a freshly lit incense stick- reminding him of his mothers herb garden just on the cusp of autumn. Her eyes were grey, he realized, sharp like the upward tilt of her lips with nothing but an omniscient glint that irked him more than he'd like to admit.

Exchanging smirks and small gestures, a simple lift of his shoulder, a tilt of her chin- it was two predators eyeing their competition from a safe distance. No sudden movements, just acknowledgement that the other existed in their breathing space for that split second before Miss Lovell continued to stroll down the street with a click of her heels, and Damon decided that waiting for his brother wasn't as important as asking his _beloved_ nephew, Zach, what was the deal with the new English teacher.

"Hello Zach," Avis drawled on the phone, watching as the blue Chevy Camaro tore away from the side walk just as she began to dial the familiar number in her phone. It was always good to have some inside information, and picking a weak link hadn't been easy, but then again, he was a man and she was a dazed and confused lady in his eyes. New, didn't know anybody, just looking for some decent company with an interest in the extensive library he had. Not to mention his talks with the council. "You didn't tell me your nephews were in town- I just taught one of them, _Stefan_ was it?"

"Avis, sorry I didn't call you sooner- it's been a bit..." He trailed off, not to say that Zach Salvatore was a man of words. He was reclusive, _polite_ , and probably one of the few she could call a genuine friend here. First meeting in the Grill, where she'd proceeded to almost be bowled over by a mountain of a man, not that she couldn't have dodged it but Zach's hands had latched onto her shoulders and pulled her out of the path just seconds before. And to thank him, she'd spent the rest of the night in his booth, insisting she buy him a drink especially since she'd just moved in the day before.

"Hectic?" She offered, lips curving into a smile as she crossed the street. Zach didn't do well with hectic, everything had an order, and anything without was promptly organized.

"You have no idea." His blustering sigh giving away his stress.

"Would a nice night out make you feel a little better?" Avis offered with an almost sultry lilt to her voice, grinning when hearing his chuckle on the other end of the phone.

"Miss Lovell, are you asking me out on a date? You know 'I'm a married man."

"Yes, married to your _work_ , oh come on- I'll even make you that roasted pepper linguine that you like." She dangled the dish teasingly in front of him, like a dog with a bone. Making a sharp left as she strolled towards her house, only a ten minute walk away from the school. By the slight hiss of his breath, she knew she had him. Shrugging her bag to one shoulder as she pulled out her keys, ready to open the door as she walked up the path to her front door. "By the silence, I'll take that as a yes. You bring the wine, and I'll make it for tonight, okay?"

"You drive a hard bargain." Zach muttered, a defeated tone that made her laugh freely, unlocking the door as she trapped the phone between her ear and shoulder.

"I learnt from the best- see you later." Avis murmured, hanging up just as she stepped through the front door. A sleek ball of white fur curling around her ankles as a form of welcome, purring loudly whilst she tried to step over her beloved feline. Dany was a rescue kitten, a limp in her back leg and a gammy eye, but it had been love at firsts sight especially with the creeping loneliness ever since she broke away from Mathis in Paris a few years ago- reaching down, she scooped up the cat who instantly curled against her, wandering through the two bedroomed house she'd bought just a few months ago. It was a far cry from their old penthouse, but it was homely.

Wandering round there, she could easily see herself staying there a while. Making a few friends, spilling a bit of wine on her pristine white rug in the living room, having a group round for dinner. To make the house a home- it was going to end in disaster. The same way it alwasy ended, people would begin to notice her lack of ageing, occasionally a person would show up with an _unusual_ cause of death...

The troubles of a succubus, she supposed.


End file.
